Hours: 6-11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through October, and Oct. 30 and 31.

Admission: $13 for ages 5 and older; children ages 4 and younger admitted free. The rate for groups of 12 or more is $10 per person.

Owners: Randy and Alaina McCauley

About the business: Randy McCauley says he'd been knocking around the idea of a fall corn maze for about four years.

"We've been to all the corn mazes around. I've always wanted to do one," says Randy, who with wife Alaina own 200 acres near Nixa.

He had the space and the experience, but after a bit of research, Randy also saw some drawbacks. The biggest was the possibility of a drought. A corn maze wouldn't stand much chance of thriving in a field that wasn't irrigated.

So one year, while cutting wood and clearing downed timber in a 10-acre patch of woods on their land, "My wife said, 'Instead of a corn maze, why don't we do a haunted woods?'"

"You know what? I think that's a good idea," Randy says he replied.

After more than a year's preparation, McCauley's Haunted Woods is officially open for business.

Randy began by clearing existing paths and creating new twists, turns and dead ends.

The maze is now more than a half-mile long. He and Alaina drew inspiration for the fright factor from their own experiences and some research.

While the woods at night can be plenty spooky alone, the couple added some thrills along the way. "We have several people in the woods scaring people," Randy says. "For some reason, people love being scared by a chain saw. I don't know why."

Several of the actors lurking in the woods are friends and members of the McCauley family. "My mom just turned 76, and she's out here scaring people and loving every minute of it," Randy says.

The number, variety and location of ghouls populating the woods differs from night to night, so even returning guests can find fresh frights.

"I don't know if it's more fun to sit here and listen to them scream," Alaina says of her post at the ticket stand.

Also on site are a petting zoo for the little ones, face painting, a concession stand and twice-a-night outdoor screenings of scary movies.

"We just try to do a little bit of everything," Randy says.

Experience: The McCauleys have plenty of business experience, running a farm and small-engine repair business, but this venture was entirely new.

They spent a year plotting thrills, buying decorative items and getting their plan in place. "We spent two weeks trying to figure out what movies to play," Randy says.

Already, they have ideas of what they might like to try next year, including a bonfire package and hayride.

Challenges: Randy says the biggest challenge was making sure the paths were as clear and level as they could be. The McCauleys wanted them to be spooky, not treacherous.

"One of the nice things is we didn't have to cut down trees to make those," Alaina says.

They've also encountered some redecorating "help" from local wildlife. Deer "have torn a few things down," Alaina says with a smile.

Goals: Randy says they'd like for the seasonal attraction to grow each year, with new features and frights.

"I think our main goal is to entertain the people ... to scare them in a good way. You know if they're out here screaming, they're having a good time," he says.